Offshore & Shipyard CEO Endorses PLM as Key; Says Worldwide Industry at Critical Juncture

PLM solutions from IBM and Dassault Systèmes at heart of Chinese, Brazilian and Norwegian next-generation oil platform project

Paris, February 9, 2006 ─ IBM and Dassault Systèmes (DS) (Nasdaq: DASTY; Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, announced today that PLM Solutions from IBM and Dassault Systèmes, are driving a multi-national collaborative global design and manufacturing oil platform project that includes China-based Yantai Raffles Shipyard, Norwegian offshore technology company Sevan Marine, and Brazil’s state-run oil company, Petrobras.

The complex Sevan Stabilized Platform (SSP) 300 project, wherein Yantai Raffles builds the Sevan Marine-designed oil platform, utilizes CATIA, ENOVIA and DELMIA from Dassault Systèmes and epitomizes the advantages that PLM brings to worldwide industry, according to Brian Chang, CEO, Yantai Raffles Shipyard. The Yantai-built SSP 300s will be deployed by its customer Petrobras.

“Worldwide industry, not just shipbuilding and energy, is at a critical juncture,” said Chang. “Some industries, like aerospace and shipbuilding, are leading the way in using 3D and PLM to transform the way they do business. Other industries, from large manufacturers to small- to medium-sized businesses, must adopt this business paradigm or risk failure in today’s globally collaborative world. PLM can simulate operating conditions, thereby enhancing quality and improving lifetime operations costs.”

Citing the transformative power of 3D and PLM at DaratechPLANT, a recent energy industry conference held in Houston, Chang outlined an urgent and stirring vision for his own industry and others. “Manufacturing today essentially uses decades-old processes streamlined with new technology. The goal isn’t to speed up the old ways of doing things or worrying about interoperability and archaic standardization arguments. It’s about finding new ways to accomplish sustainable development, adoption of best practices, knowledge reuse and ultimately on-time delivery.”

“Yantai Raffles and Sevan Marine exemplify the creative thought that 3D and PLM enable,” said Etienne Droit, executive vice president PLM Sales & Distribution, Dassault Systèmes. “3D and V5 PLM fundamentally alter the design-manufacturing business equation, enabling innovation, and rapid adaptation to changing market needs and fluctuating market conditions. The SSP 300 project is an example of an innovative solution in a market where nearly 80% of all projects experience catastrophic cost overruns and overwhelming delays.”

Until recently, the offshore industry opted for retrofitted oil tankers as offshore storage and production facilities. But a shortage of available tankers available for retrofitting has changed the competitive landscape in the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) market. The SSP 300 FPSO is a large circular, floating platform used to store and process 300,000 barrels oil in an on-board processing plant. The SSP 300 project uses IBM PLM solutions to facilitate concurrent design engineering and construction. The tight integration of the V5 architecture enables real-time validation of the FPSO design against analysis requirements and construction processes. This simultaneous validation of design and manufacturing drastically minimizes the revision so common in the energy market.

"CATIA V5 has been used in the design process of the SSP and we are currently moving quickly forward in our design methods by reengineering this business process for the SSP Offshore FPSO/FSO,” said Tom Erik Smedal, project manager, PLM Technologies, Sevan Marine. “The widespread deployment of CATIA V5, ENOVIA V5 and SMARTEAM will dramatically improve our global collaboration."

In the highly competitive FPSO market, Sevan Marine is a strong, compact organization, using CATIA V5 and ENOVIA to control its projects and ensure delivery on-time and on-budget. “We can do a basic design in just one week with a handful of our engineers because V5 PLM reduces conceptual design time by up to 70 percent,” added Smedal.

Simulation of the SSP 300 manufacturing process with DELMIA, Dassault Systèmes’ digital manufacturing solution, enables the interchange between manufacturing engineers and design engineers to which Chang refers. “3D is the communication medium for business today and tomorrow. Our young engineers, managers, and other executives all see the virtual world as real and are completely comfortable with 3D,” says Chang. “Seeing a digital model of a ship or a platform before production begins is an unforgettable experience for our customers.”

"Offshore and shipyard companies have understood the value that PLM can bring their businesses. They are more reactive to customer demands and have increased customer satisfaction while reducing product development costs," said John Porter, VP Sales, IBM PLM. "With IBM and DS' PLM solutions, the global SSP 300 project team is empowering its product development teams with the right tools to foster sustainable innovation across the entire value chain, and reinforce market leadership."